Titans vs Jaguars Game Day Newsletter 4Sept19Titans_Digital | Page 15

JACKSONVILLE – No rest for the weary.
The Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) welcome the
Tennessee Titans (1-1) to TIAA Bank Field for
Thursday Night Football, with huge implications
for the home team.
A win keeps the early part of the 2019 season
within reach with a 1-1 AFC South record. A loss
would drop the Jaguars to 0-3 overall and give
them an 0-2 hole in division play. The Titans
have won six of the last seven meetings with
the Jaguars.
Use any cliché you would like: circle the
wagons, rally the troops, defend the ‘Bank…
Either way, this is a game the Jaguars need.
Week 2 review
Nick Foles suffered a fractured collar bone in
Week 1 after the fi rst touchdown pass of the
season and the defense gave up 40 points and
nearly 500 yards to the defending league MVP
and one of the best offenses in football.
Final score: Chiefs 40-26, and plenty of
questions popped up as to where this team
would go. Would the defense respond like they
have shown in the past that they can? Could the
rookie quarterback keep the offense moving like
he did in relief after the Foles injury?
The Jaguars went to Houston in Week 2 and
leaned on a defense that bounced back and
played well while rallying around rookie
quarterback Gardner Minshew II to nearly
take a tough road win against a good Houston
Texans team.
The offense sputtered throughout the day
but continued to fi ght, and fi nally in the fourth
quarter Minshew and the offense rallied. A
14-play, 68-yard drive ended with a 4-yard
touchdown pass from Minshew to DJ Chark Jr.,
and the Jags were an extra point away from
a tie game. The fi nal drive was not pretty, it
was not smooth, it was not easy… but it was
effective.
The rookie found a way, and only a failed two-
point conversion play ended the Jaguars’ hopes
of a wild road rally. Running back Leonard
Fournette was stopped short of the goal line on
an inside run, preserving a 13-12 win for the
Texans.
“On that last drive, I mean, you could see the
poise the kid has,” Head Coach Doug Marrone
said after Sunday’s loss in Houston. “(He) was
able to go down the fi eld and score. He’s never
-- I’ve told you guys before – he’s not a guy that
gets rattled.
“He understands what we’re trying to get
accomplished, what we want to do,” Marrone
added. “So, I couldn’t be happier with him.”
Minshew fi nished the day 23 of 33 for 213 yards
and a touchdown, but he also ran for 56 yards
on six carries. On the fi nal touchdown drive,
Minshew was 5 of 9 for 36 yards through the air.
At one point he threw three consecutive
incompletions and faced fourth-and-10, but then
the rookie found a way to keep the drive alive
with his legs, scrambling for 18 yards to move
the Jaguars into the red zone. Minshew ran
for four more yards on the next play before the
touchdown capped the drive.
They were inches away.
The defense responded by shutting down wide
receiver DeAndre Hopkins – with Jalen Ramsey
covering him all day – and holding the Texans
to 13 points.
“Man, just credit to all our guys just staying with
it,” Minshew said after last week’s game. “Keep
fi ghting the whole time. They (Texans) were a
good defense and just for us to keep battling.
We made too many mistakes early; us getting in
our own way.”Before the touchdown drive, the